As the Government’s Help to Buy Scheme continues to drive house sales across Nottingham among first time buyers, a new community is experiencing high demand from the under 30s wanting to invest in its properties.
Located on the banks of the River Trent and around an historic inland dock, more than a third (36%) of residents in Phase One at Trent Basin are first-time buyers, with many choosing to invest in the cost saving benefits of the Help to Buy Scheme while benefitting from the low energy house bills, community living and greener lifestyle on offer.
By opting into the Government’s scheme, homebuyers are able to get on the property ladder with only a 5% deposit. Therefore, with a deposit from as little as £11,000, first-time buyers at Trent Basin are able to purchase a two or three-bedroom new build house with a roof terrace and waterside views looking across the beautiful River Trent – attributes that would usually be a luxury and unaffordable for many first-time buyers.
This was the case for 25-year-old Laura Merrett, a Change Manager who moved into a three-bedroom house on Trent Lane at Trent Basin with her 28-year-old boyfriend Matt Bacon, a Lead Technician. Both originally from Nottingham, this is their first home.
Having previously lived with Matt’s parents in Sneinton, the couple moved to Trent Basin earlier this year in February after booking a viewing with Estate Agents FHP Living.
Laura said: “We had been looking for the perfect home since May 2016 but we had never considered a new-build before taking a look at Trent Basin. New builds tend to all look the same and don’t have a lot of character but the properties at Trent Basin were different. From the roof terrace with amazing views to the appearance and lovely colour of the brick work, everything stood out to us.
“It was even better that we could use the Government’s Help to Buy Scheme as it made buying our first home so much easier. You are getting a brand new spacious house but the deposit is a fraction of the price for an older house and we won’t have to worry about home repairs or associated costs for many years.”
Just a 30-minute walk from the city centre and with prices ranging from £220,000 to £395,000, Trent Basin has had a successful year of sales and now only has two homes left for sale in Phase One. The scheme, which is being developed by regeneration specialists Blueprint, is part of Nottingham City Council’s £250m waterside regeneration project and will see 500 new homes built when all five phases are completed.
The majority of first-time buyers also chose to live at Trent Basin because of its energy-saving benefits including state-of-the-art insulation systems, airtight building structures and energy-saving aluminium and wood windows – all of which can save residents hundreds of pounds each year.
Laura added: “We didn’t know a lot about energy-efficiency when we first visited Trent Basin but of course the idea of saving money on household bills appealed to us immediately. The energy efficient systems mean that our house has never been cold in the winter. It’s great to know that we are saving a lot of money each month.
“The energy efficiency credentials are just one example of the benefits at Trent Basin. Despite not being finished yet, we are finding there is a real sense of community here and an investment from the developers in making Trent Basin a great place and first home for us to live in.”
Nick Ebbs, Chief Executive at Blueprint, said: “Young first-time buyers accounted for almost half of all homebuyers in the UK in 2017 but it can often be difficult for them to get on to the property ladder. We wanted to make the transition as easy as possible while providing a forever home, where the residents can settle and create an exciting long-term future for themselves in the waterside community at Trent Basin.
“Homebuyers benefit from the Government’s help to buy scheme and they understand that they are not just investing in future savings on energy and sustainability but also a lifestyle at Trent Basin with waterside living, green spaces and a really friendly community.”
Work on site for Phase Two of Trent Basin, on which Help to Buy is also available, is expected to start later this year and Blueprint is already taking expressions of interest for the new homes.
